Bardock and the Crying Girl
by Scraps off the Tapestry
Summary: After supposedly dying, Bardock ends up in a sanctuary created by a girl named Cho. But, they're trapped. Warning: very sentimental.


Author's note: This is a short I wrote when I was fealing both miserable and slightlyBarkock obsessed. If you like sentimental stuff, fine, if you don't, then don't read this. I actually finished it over one week! Anyway, there is a bit of humor at the end in the form of... well, you'll find out.The aproximate date of this pieceislast summer.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Dragonball series, but I am a fan. It all belongs to Mr. Toriyama. If anyone sues me, I shall send my pet dragon after them. Just kidding.

* * *

It was to the sound of crying that Bardock opened his eyes. 'Who's crying?' he wondered. 'And what's going on here?' Bardock collected himself and went over the last things he remembered. First, he had challenged Freeza to a fight. Then he had thrown a blast that comprised of all the energy he could gather, only to have it be absorbed by Freeza's huge energy ball. After that, he himself had been absorbed by that orange orb. Then, he had gotten a vision of his son, Kakarot, facing off with Freeza. Finally, there had been an incredible pain. And now, this instead of the afterlife? That made no sense! And what made even less sense was that his armor and other clothes were intact up to his headband securely wrapped around his head; even his tail was curled around his waist. However absurd it seemed, that fact gave Bardock some limited comfort.

Bardock took in his new surroundings. He was in a teardrop-shaped room, with dark green painted walls with a dark blue ceiling and carpet. He could see no source of illumination, there was just a soft glow coming from all directions. In the one corner was a bed specially shaped for that angle. His eyes fell on the source of the crying. It was a teenage girl curled up on the bed in clothes the like of which Bardock had never seen before. And she definitely wasn't Saiyan. Her hair was a deep, burnished red and she had no tail! 'Come to think of it,' Bardock recognized, 'I've only seen her like in visions of my son's future…' "What's going on here?" he wondered aloud.

With a gasp, the crying stopped. Bardock looked down at the girl as she looked up at him. Black eyes locked with hazel. The girl cocked her head, sniffed, and stammered, "H-how? Wh-why?"

As he did before with Freeza, Bardock once more went inside a person's mind. 'Inside her mind, her thoughts areas clear as day!' he thought, once again amazed at the power of mind-reading. 'She created this place as a sanctuary but forgot a door. Now the danger is gone but she can't get out. Overcome with loneliness, she cries without stopping. She just wants someone to comfort her!' he realized.

The girl looked away and began to cry again. Bardock didn't know the words to describe how she looked. Pitiful? No… Pathetic? Not that either… Miserable? Yes, that was it. That girl looked miserable. Something about her tugged at his heartstrings. Slowly, the heart that had never known anything but conquering planet after planet began to soften towards this girl.

Bardock slowly sat down on the edge of the bed and gently gathered the girl into his arms. She rested her head on his chest and her crying, little by little, began to stop. Bardock looked down at her and smiled slightly.

"My name is Cho," she said, her voice cracking. She had an accent that Bardock didn't recognize. "I am from Japan, but was adopted to an American family. I have two adopted sisters. One is older than I; she is Diamond, called Dia. The other one is a rescue case. She was found on the side of the road. No one knows who she really is, or where she came from, but we call her Ebony, for her glossy black hair. She is younger than I. I only want to see my family and friends again. I want to get out!" She began to cry again.

Bardock began to talk. "My name is Bardock. I am a Saiyan." Bardock continued talking about himself until he had nothing else to say. Then they fell silent. Time passed.

A while later, Bardock was not sure how long, someone said, "Ahem."

Bardock and Cho looked around.There, standing in the middle of the room, was a woman in a bright pink outfit with the words "Lost Souls Department" emblazoned on the chest in fluorescent orange. She glanced at a clipboard in her hand. "Now, then you, Cho, want to get back to your family and friends. And you, Bardock, want to get to your afterworld. Is that right?"

"Yes," Cho confirmed.

"Excellent. I adore being correct," the stranger said. "Now then, when you hear the gong –"

"Actually," interrupted a voice, "the gong is being fixed after the gremlins got into it, last night. You've just been working overtime."

"Oh, up-shut about overtime, will you?" she said, looking up at the ceiling. "What else do we have?"

"A fife playing 'Yankee Doodle.'"

"Yankee Doodle is an American folk song," Cho murmured to Bardock.

"I'll take it." The woman looked back at them. "Ahem. When you hear the fife playing 'Yankee Doodle,' your desires will be granted."

Bardock had a sudden vision of Cho sitting up suddenly in a bed, and knocking heads with a black haired girl. He smiled slightly.

He was brought back to the present by a slightly shrill tune wafting through the air. Cho murmured, "Yankee Doodle came to town / riding on a pony. / Stuck a feather in his hat / and called it macaroni." She smiled up at him. "Bye." And she was gone. And then Bardock was gone too.


End file.
